ADAMS COUNTY, Colo. — Over the last few days, fire departments across Colorado have been getting a similar call.
"We got a request through the Federal Resource Request," said Brandon Donner, wildland coordinator with the Adams County Fire Rescue. "It was an easy decision to make, right? We like to protect our own state."
They sent four crews and a brush truck to the Ferris Fire, which is burning in southwest Colorado.
"We've gone down there a couple times, and the big thing for me, talking to my guys about it, was a lot of light, flashy fuels. So the fires, when they move down there, they move quick," Donner said.
The crew members went with a Type 3 Brush Truck.
"The unique thing about the Type 3 is it has the off-road capabilities, so it can go in some of this rugged terrain, but more than anything, it carries more water to some of these desolate locations," Donner said.
Those types of trucks can carry 500 gallons of water. Westminster also sent four of their firefighters with the same type of truck.
"We want to stop these fires because wildland fires are so impactful to communities," said Emily Raisch with the Westminster Fire Department.
Several local agencies were also called in as back up for the deadly Snyder Fire burning in Mesa County.
West Metro Fire sent two sets of crews there. One crew will run a wildland brush engine.
The second crew from West Metro is part of their Rapid Extraction Module Support team.
Those firefighters are trained in wildland fire fighting and technical rescue.
Crews from Mountain View Fire Rescue left Monday morning for the Western Slope.
Several other agencies across Colorado have also sent in crews to help.
"We feel extremely honored to be able to assist our neighbors," Raisch said.
She said the four staff member vacancies from sending resources to the Ferris Fire have been back-filled by other local staff.
Both Westminster and Adams County officials are urging everyone on the Front Range to avoid putting a strain on fire crews and do their part to keep neighbors safe as the Fourth of July is upcoming.
"I encourage people to stay away from fireworks and just go to a professional show. They're all over the state," Donner said.
"It's so dry that any little fire really has the potential to take off," Raisch said.
